Gear-case.



J. E. BALES.

GEAR CASE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.30,1912.

Patented Oct. 14, 1913.

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Emitting llllhlflllmy m Ill lllliim filllllllmw IAllrIES. E. EVA-LES, QE MONTGOMERY, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 LYON' METALLIC MANU- FACTTIR-ING COMPANY, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

GEAR-CASE,

Specification of LettersPatent- Patented Oct. 14, 1913.

Application fi'l-edseptembcl'. 30, 1:912. SerialNo 723,135.

To all whom may concern:

Be 1t known that I, JAMEs E. BALES, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Montgomery, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Gear-Cases, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to metallic gear cases, more especially for the reduction. gears of street railway motors, and the object of the invention is to provide a construction such that the case will be able to withstand the strain and jarring to. which such gear cases are subjected.

It will be understood that on street railway and other cars the reduction gears which transmit motion from the motor to. the traction wheels are usually inclosed. in gear cases for the purpose of excluding dust,

preventing the escape of oil, and protecting the gearing from external objects. These gear cases are mounted upon the running gear in location where springs are impractical. Frequently it is inconvenient or impossible to provide as many supporting brackets as might be desirable. The result is that the gear cases are subjected: to very heavy vibration which is. constant so. long as the car is in motion. This vibration not only sets up strains in. the case but crystallizes the rivets and the metal: of which the case is made. the scarcity and inconvenient location of the brackets the strains are/very great in portions of the case.

My object is to provide a gear case which shall be simple in construction and: shall at. the same time be very stiff and rigid.

Another object is to. make the case oil tight without sacrificing the strength of the material to accomplish: it.

I accomplish my objects by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gear case embodying my invention. Fig- 2v is. a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view similar to Fig. 2 and showing characteristics with which my invention is particularly concerned. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section showing fastening means for securing a supporting bracket to the side of the case.

Furthermore, on account of any suitable, means.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

As. usual, in gear cases, my case is constructed in two parts, which. will be referred to as the upper and lower halves of the case. In general, the case comprises the sides 1 and the strips 2 by which they are connected. The outline of the case is such as to ets may be varied to suit conditions and are not particularly concerned with: the essence of the invention. It is desirable that the edges of the sides of the case overlap in some suitable manner to assist in excluding dust and to prevent the lubricant from the gears from. being splashed onto surrounding objects.

I will now describe inv detail one of the chief characteristics evidencing my invention.

The sides'of the case instead of being flat at their peripheries; are curved inward to formv flange 5, best. shown in Fig. 3. strips 2: have cooperating flanges 6 at their marginal edges, each strip; and its flange being adapted to interfit snugly with the side and its. flange. By pre.-ference,.the curvature has an appreciable radius whereby the, parts.

exhibit a visible, curvature instead of a sharp bond. The length of the radius of curvature, however, may vary within reasonable limits without departing from the spirit of theinvention. A shoulder7 is formed upon the strips 2 in position to engage the inner edge of the flanges 5 at each side of the case. The parts are secured together by welded.- at the end of the flange 5 where it abutsthe shoulder 7 or at any other spot, or the parts may be riveted together or both welded and riveted. As there is extra metal at the shoulder 7 the strength of the case is not lessened by the heat of the weld at this point. The degree of heat necessary for welding always damages metal somewhat but in my construction I provide extra thickness The two halves of the case are The They may be spot and thus avoid weakening the case. If rivets are employed I prefer to use the form shown in detail in Fig. 4. These are in the form approximately of double truncated cones.

It will be seen that as a result of my construction the strips and sides are firmly held together without depending to any great eX- tent upon the rivets or welds. The parts cannot move laterally relatively to each other in either direction and the strip 'cannot move vertically toward the center of the case. The only direction in which movement is possible is for the strip to move in a vertical plane outward from the center of the case. Movement in this direction is prevented by the rivets 10, welds or brackets 3. Consequently the metal of the sides and strip is utilized to hold the parts together and bears the major portion of the strain. As the strain is so well distributed, crystallization takes place very slowly if at all and the case is able to withstand an unusual amount of vibration and of wear and tear. Another advantage of this construction is that the case is completely oil proof at the corners, the interfitting construction at the joints affording a very thorough protection against leakage.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A gear case consisting of parallel metal sides and a metal connecting strip, each of said parts having a marginal flange and one of said parts and its flange fitting over the cooperating part and its flange, the part coming 011 the outside having an internal shoulder abutting the edge of the flange of the part which comes on the inside, whereby the part which comes on the inside is held from movement in one direction by said shoulder and in the opposite direction by the flange of the part which comes on the outside.

2. A gear case composed of sheet metal, the case comprising parallel sides and strips joining them and arranged at right angles thereto, the sides being turned inwardly at the edges so as to form an overlapping corner joint, the part lying on the outside having an internal shoulder abutting the edge of the cooperating part.

3. A gear case comprising parallel sheet metal sides and metallic strips joining them and arranged at right angles thereto, the sides being turned inwardly at the edges and the strips being correspondingly turned at the edges, so as to interfit with the sides with the strips overlapping the sides, the strips having internal shoulders abutting the inner edge of the sides.

l. A gear comprising parallel sheet metal sides and metallic strips joining them and arranged at right angles thereto, the sides being turned inwardly at the edges and the strips being correspondingly turned at the edges so as to interfit with the sides, with the strips overlapping the sides, the strips having integral shoulders formed by swaging or similar process and abutting the inner edge of the sides.

5. A gear case comprising parallel sheet metal sides and metallic strips joining them and arranged at right angles thereto, the sides being turned inwardly at the edges and the strips being correspondingly turned at the edges, so as to interfit with the sides a with the strips overlapping the sides, the strips having internal shoulders abutting the inner edge of the sides, and rivets passing through both thicknesses at a point adjacent to said shoulders.

6. A gear case having parallel metal sides with inwardly extending marginal flanges,

a connecting strip resting upon the outside of said flanges and. itself having marginal flanges fitting over the outsideof the sides of the case, said connecting strip havingan internal integral shoulder abutting the edge of the flange of the adjacent side of the case.

7 A gear case having parallel'sides and a strip for connecting them together, one of said parts having a flange overlapping the connected part and the connected part having a flange underlapping the part towhich it is connected, the overlapping part of the case having an internal shoulder abutting the edge of the .underlapping part of the case.

In witness whereof scribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES E. BALES. Witnesses:

HOWARD M. Cox, MAX S. ROSENZWEIG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. p

I have hereunto .sub A 

